KPMG plans regional co-innovation hub in Singapore

KPMG, one of the Big Four auditors, plans to set up a regional co-innovation hub in Singapore, together with Action Community for Entrepreneurship, a government-supported private led organization, to boost co-innovation in the region.

It signed a memorandum of understanding through its unit, KPMG Digital Village, with ACE on Wednesday. The co-innovation hub will help startups solve real business challenges, such as through corporate accelerators. It will also be used to support enterprises' innovation journeys.

Officials from KPMG and ACE attend the MOU signing ceremony on Wednesday.

"Our role is to help corporates understand the discipline of innovation and leverage innovative startup solutions," said Jan Reinmueller, head of KPMG Digital Village. He said the co-innovation hub will also be "driving the cross-pollination of ideas," "opening doors for local startups looking to grow overseas," and "for foreign startups considering Singapore as their base of operations."

As part of the collaboration, ACE will bring in their expertise and startup network. Edmas Neo, executive director of ACE, said that within a three-year time frame, the organization aims to support 250 international startups to launch in Singapore and "facilitate their regional market access." They will also support 250 local startups in their efforts "to internationalize and expand across the region."

ACE was launched in 2003 by Singapore's Ministry of Trade & Industry to foster innovation and entrepreneurship in the city state. It was restructured in 2014 to be a private-led initiative supported by the government to drive entrepreneurship initiatives.

Singapore has seen a wave of innovation and incubator programs by both local and multinational companies. Earlier this year, HP Enterprise announced a three-year InnovateNext program with Singapore's Economic Development Board that will partner with local tech startups and help customers develop and commercialize solutions. Last year, IBM and Standard Chartered Bank launched their own innovation labs in Singapore.